11th-Ranked Saints Defeated Thiel, 42-3, On Homecoming

(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - The 11th-ranked Thomas More College football team rolled up 363 yards of total offense to defeat Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Thiel College, 42-3, today (Saturday, October 2, 2010) on Homecoming at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.

With the win, the Saints improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the PAC and with the loss, the Tomcats fall to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the PAC.

Thomas More never trailed as it led 7-0 after one quarter, 21-0 at halftime and 21-3 after three quarters.

The Saints took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when sophomore defensive back Antonio Booker (Louisville, Ky./Male) intercepted a Tomcat pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown and senior place kicker Dustin Zink (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) added the point-after-attempt with 10:27 to play in the first quarter.

Then with 13:22 to play in the second half junior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) scored on a five yard run and Zink added the PAT to extend the lead to 14-0.

Thomas More then then increased the lead to 21-0 at halftime when sophomore Rob Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) scored on a four yard run and Zink added the PAT with 51 seconds to play in the first half.

In the third quarter, Thiel cut the lead to 21-3 when Berend Grube connected on a 30 yard field goal with 11:40 to play in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Kues hooked up with Owens on a 20-yard touchdown pass and Zink added the PAT to increased the Saints lead to 28-3 with 10:54 to play in the game.

Thomas More then increased the lead to 35-3 when freshman running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a one yard run and Zink added the PAT with 7:28 to play in the fourth quarter.

Then freshman running back Adam Rauch (Yorkville, Ind./East Central) scored on a 71 yard touchdown run and Zink added the PAT with 2:29 to play in the game for the final score of 42-3.

Thomas More outgained the Tomcats 363 yard to 154 yards as the Saints had 223 yards rushing and 140 yards passing and Thiel had 75 yards on the ground and 79 yards in the air.

Offensively, the Saints were led by Kues, who had 163 yards of total offense as he was eight-of-13 passing for 140 yards and one touchdown and rushed the ball 14 times for 23 yards and one touchdown.  Hayden had 12 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown, while Owens had 10 carries for 36 yards and one touchdown and had five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Saints were led by sophomore linebacker Nick Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who had nine tackles, including one for a loss of two yards.  Sophomore defensive back Zach Autenrieb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had seven tackles, sophomore linebacker Elijah Anglim (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) had seven tackles, including one for a loss and senior defensive end Justin Smith (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and junior linebacker Zach Mink (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) each had seven tackles, including a half sack.

The Saints hit the road next Saturday (October 9) to play PAC foe Grove City College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Robert E. Thorn Field in Grove City, Pennsylvania.